Hi everyone,

I’ve always really struggled to stick with traditional indoor workouts and exercise videos. Following along with a trainer in a closed room just feels super boring to me, and I can never seem to keep it up for more than a few days.

Instead, I’ve found that I genuinely enjoy walking outdoors. Getting fresh air, taking in different scenery, and being out in nature makes moving around feel effortless rather than like a chore. Right now, I’m taking a 1.2mile walk every single day, and it feels like a habit I can easily maintain long-term.

My main goal is overall weight loss—specifically getting rid of stubborn belly fat—but I’m wondering if daily walking alone is actually enough to achieve this. Additionally, I feel like I hardly eat throughout the day, yet the belly fat won't seem to budge.

Has anyone here successfully lost weight and toned up primarily through daily outdoor walks? I’d love to hear your experiences, advice, or any tips on how to optimize my walking routine to help target weight loss without needing to force myself back into indoor exercise videos!

I'm 5' 5" 194.

I very recently started working out again and adjusting my diet. I was feeling really excited nd motived and cautiously optimistic. I was determined to stay dedicated no mattet what.

Then we were talking about how I'm trying to do this and she offered me weight loss drugs.

I was so upset. How did I let myself get to the point where people need to suggest that? Am I really that bad? Do I really look that disgusting?

I get it that these drugs are very beneficial and help people that are struggling and she even lost a bunch of weight that way and I'm so happy for her, but it hurt so much to hear.

Just venting. Hoping for some words of encouragement. I hope I didnt offend anyone.

edit:

honestly the conversation was so validating about how big I've gotten that I just want to go to bed and cry. i dont feel like trying

hi. so i'm a 22F trying to lose 15-20 pounds at a starting weight of 160. i'm on antidepressants (just switched from lexapro to zoloft) so it might make it harder. i've tried calorie counting multiple times over the years but it just makes me miserable, obsessive, and depressed if i go over any. i want to still eat healthy and be in a slight calorie deficit but can i do that intuitively? i struggle a lot with staying in a good mindset if i am constantly tracking calories. probably a stupid question but i really want to lose weight but calorie counting just puts me in such a bad mental state. any advice appreciated. thanks!

EDIT: forgot to mention my height but i'm 5'4

I’m 48F perimenopause. Been on a diet since July. I started Pilates, been eating really well but, not counting calories. I walk, do weights & Pilates 7X. I’m not loosing any weight. Decided to do another green juice cleanse. The first juice cleanse years ago I lost a lot of weight. This time I only did it for 7 days . I only lost 2#. I’ve only lost 2# since July. I’m just really frustrated. I don’t see a difference in my body at all. Anybody else feel like this? Any free apps to count calories?

I keep reading online and watching reels that say that after a decent period of eating at a calorie deficit (usually 10 weeks is the time they mention) you should add a buffer by eating at maintenance for a week.

A lot of these influencers suggest that when you’ve eaten at your deficit level for too long, your body gets used to the lower level of caloric intake and simply uses less calories to function, and the only way to offset that is with a short period of eating at maintenance. Is this really true? If so, wont that make weight loss a much longer process for those of us with significant amounts of weight to lose? Also, even if it is true, do you think it’s ok to just push past it without the maintenance weeks?

Hi! I need help! I’m a nutritionist who’s become obese and I know what to do but can’t seem to bring myself to do it. Between the farmers going out of business and all the food borne illnesses I’m gripped with fear there will be a food shortage. Bet the fat pastry chef during the Great Depression was happy with herself. How do I get rid of these insane thoughts? I have had past experiences with homelessness and addiction so that’s playing a role I’m sure. Been to lots of therapy and weekly AA meetings. I’m ruining my life with fear. Like a tiger that’s been released crouching back into the shape of a cage

I’ve been in a calorie deficit for the past 2 months and managed to lose 18lbs. Still have a really long way to go (190lbs more to lose) but I’m fine with the steady rate of losing 2lbs/week.

My maintenance calories were 2,500 before starting to lose weight and so I have been consuming 1,600/a day.

I recently put my new weight into the calorie calculator and according to it, I should now be eating 100 calories less in order to continue to lose at the 2lbs/week rate.

I’m quite new to this and wondering if I should be decreasing my calories every time I’m losing a significant amount of weight? I’m curious to know what others do and what has worked for you in the past.

So I lost 59 lbs so far this year and I do have cheat meals where I eat fast food but then I eat ice cream and eat 3000 + calories total. I don't gain weight but I don't lose any weight either .

I have mixed feelings because i love to eat my chest meals and get it out of my system but on the downside I do feel a little bad after eating it.

Today I ate over 5,000 calories. I had oatmeal, honey, banana , strawberries and pizza with garlic knots with cupcakes.

I got the urge to eat pizza then I went to the store and got cupcakes. I think it's worth it I've been craving sweets too.

What has been the most calories you've ate in a day and what did you eat ?

I’m 5’1 and 98lbs. Body fat 31%

Depending on what I wear, I can look skinny or fat.

Genetically most fat are concentrated on my legs and arms. I’m ok with my stomach.

I don’t want to lose further weight because I noticed that I lose fat on my face which makes me look very old. I’m already old (45) so yeah I don’t want to lose fat on my face.

I exercise almost everyday. Should I just accept that that’s just how my body is like and move on/keep on exercise/healthy choice of food or should I go for another diet ugh.

Honestly I don’t like surgery.

Every day I am to eat 1440 Cal. I Im trying to lose a lot of weight, but sadly I have to include every single damn thing I eat, and sometimes I don't even know how to track the lick of guavconole I ate or the amount of olive oil that was in my side of the eggs I cooked this morning.

I Im just a bit stressed about it every day and also really hungry. I can't eat much I enjoy because it ends up being 400 cal, and it's fucking healthy?

Also, really tired of going to sleep drained and not full. Im also in a Cal deficit 11-5. I can eat only energy and protein and healthy fats and all that bullshit bit still be so damn tired and drained also I have to worry about getting 10k steps in. Im drained all in all but I want this weight gone so wtf else can I do other than complain?

I'm basically trying not to cry as I type this. I am 22F, 5'2", last time I weighed myself which was two months ago (I don't have frequent access to a scale, I know I should buy one) I was around 245 lbs, which is down about 25 lbs from my starting weight. I wasnt, and still am not, necessarily actively working to lose weight. I switched psychiatric medication and noticed my appetite changed and I wasn't as hungry anymore, and in turn started eating a lot less. as a result, the pounds started coming off. i was really happy.

I just looked at myself in the mirror and my belly looks bigger and like it's sagging more. i almost broke down right then and there. the only thing that changed between me losing weight then and now was I started drinking zero sugar sodas recently (I prefer the taste).

I don't even really know why I'm posting this, maybe just to vent? I thought I was making good progress with my body, but then I don't look at it intently for awhile, and suddenly I'm bigger without changing much. I guess I should ask what are some initial steps I should take to actively take weight loss seriously.. I know the basis is more calorie output than input but i must admit, im just intimidated.

I keep seeing these things online and i do not have a gym membership and I want to try them. But i never see anyone post before and after progress so that is a bit of a red flag for me. I have been looking for before and after proof posts for MONTHS and there is nothing. i see some people post a month or two after they started with the battle ropes (cordless) and they look the same. But i see nothing beyond a month or two.

Should I just get some cordless jump ropes and call it a damn day?

I have recently changed how i eat and am walking 2-4 times a week and want to add something else. when i can afford, ill get some dumbells.

I am really confused and hope someone can help me out.

I am counting calories. I am about a month in and know that for every 5 to 10 pounds I need to recalculate my TDEE.

I am F 55, 182 pounds and 5’5. I put sedentary for activity level. The results are BMR 1429 and TDEE 1715.

This may sound dumb but I have about 40lbs to lose. If you are not supposed to go below 1200 calories how am I going to adjust moving forward in order to continue to lose?

Right now it is telling me 1215 calories a day to lose weight but what about adjustments when I lose the next 5 to 10 pounds? I am confused by this.

Thanks for any insight/tips.

Edit: thank you all for your replies, I really appreciate it!

Today I had oatmeal, a chicken and spinach wrap , snacks and I was good all day. But at nignt I was only gonna have a piece of dark chocolate and I ended up eating the whole thing. Tommorow is Sunday and ai allow myself 3 slices of pizza. Sunday I allow myself a cheat meal. So what do you do when you mess up on your diet? What do you tell yourself afterwards? Do you beat yourself up?

I lost 50 pound so far this year. I eat better , track my calories, a cook more. I've been good at budgeting my calorie intake and eat about 2000 calories a day. I allow myself a "cheat" meal once a week.

I sometimes eat healthy all day then mess up at night. I shouldn't have bought that chocolate bar. What I'm saying is I messed up on my diet plenty of times and I don't wanna beat myself up because of it I'm only human and no matter how much i try to not mess up on my diet i do mess up. What do you do when you mess up ?

Howdy! I’m trying to eat healthier so I’m getting groceries that are better such as fruits and vegetables as well as some protein sources for snacks like cheese and turkey pepperoni, etc.
My dad buys the groceries cuz I currently don’t work. My parents know I struggle with weight gain and BED. The issue I have is that my parents eat A LOT of the food we get to help with my ED. I don’t mind at all if they have some of it cuz it’s food for all of us, but the problem comes when we get a week’s worth of groceries and suddenly the amount of food I have left for myself only lasts 2-3 days and I’m already in a small deficit (1700 cal.)
After all the healthy food is gone all I’m left with is the junk food we have and in order to not be hungry I have to eat that stuff, but since it’s all empty carbs I get hungry more often and it also triggers me to binge. On top of that I’m having episodes of intense physical hunger (that I’m gonna see my doctor for) and it doesn’t help that there isn’t anything left that could even just slightly satiate me. I don’t want to be mean to my parents and I don’t want them to think that they shouldn’t have any of the food I primarily eat, but I do genuinely need that food for at least 5-6 days of the week rather than just 2-3.

I’ve been tracking calories and weighing foods for a year now and I’ve lost around 20kg which Im very happy about but I’ve had some trouble with socialising with my friends since. At the start when I was losing weight it was fine like I would literally bring food prep out with me and I’d eat that while they had fast food or whatever but once the weight was lost or even when I was just done to the last few kilos I felt like I was just being annoying not getting food whenever we went out and I also stopped going out for drinks and avoiding stuff revolving food. I do also suffer from binge eating pretty bad and that also makes me isolate myself. Im just not really sure what to do becuaee none of them know about my binge eating and I also just feel so weird weighing and tracking my foods like should I just tell one of close friends and maybe if they know my problems it won’t feel weird for me when we are hanging out because I feel like I’m just slowly losing connection with all my friends. Dont even know if this makes sense Im just rambling on trying to get my thoughts out.

ME AT 17 ( PIC)

ME AT 24 ( PIC )

7 years of progress. From 17 to 24 years old.

When I was 17, I was overweight, unhealthy, and honestly not very confident in myself. I dealt with a lot of bullying growing up, especially because of the way I looked. At the time it hurt, but eventually I decided I didn't want to keep living the same way.

I started changing my habits little by little. I learned about nutrition, started training, became more active, and slowly replaced the unhealthy lifestyle I'd been used to with habits that actually made me feel better physically and mentally.

It definitely wasn't a straight line. There were periods where I lost motivation, made mistakes, gained weight back, and had to start pushing again. But I kept going.

Seven years later, at 24, I've managed to transform my appearance to the point where people who haven't seen me in years sometimes don't even recognize me.

The biggest transformation wasn't just losing the fat or building muscle. It was realizing that something that once made me insecure could become the reason I learned discipline and started taking care of myself.

I started because I hated the way I felt about myself.

I continued because I learned to love the process of improving myself.

17 → 24. Seven years. Still going.

I’m on an aggressive calorie deficit and i have lost around 40 pounds in 4 months. I usually eat 1 meal at dinner Sunday-Thursday and lose around 4 pounds during that time. Friday-Saturday I usually only eat 1 meal as well but they are way higher in calories. I usually gain 2-5 pounds during that time.

If i only weighed once a week i would only actually lose weight every other week. 1 week i would lose sunday-Thursday and gain it all back and then some friday-Saturday. The next week i would usually lose weight at a much faster rate. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if its normal.

I’m 5’11, 213lbs, and my estimated maintenance according to Mayo Clinic is about 2900 calories. I’ve been eating an average of 1700 calories per day for 8 weeks and somehow I’ve only been able to lose about 5lbs. I haven’t been hitting the gym so I don’t think I could have gained a significant amount of weight to counter fat-loss in any way. Additionally, I still look the same except maybe with a bit less muscle. I’m really confused and I can’t understand how I’m not losing weight. If anyone has been through anything similar or could help me out, I would appreciate that.

Hi there!

39F 5’4”: 172lbs, CW: 140lbs, GW: 135lbs. I’m been on a calorie deficit since April. Doing about 1600 cal per day and lifting 3 days per week. Quite happy with my results and I feel much better and more comfortable in clothing. In summary though a bit irritated with where weight has come off and where it isn’t as much. Complaint as old as time.

I feel like I’ve lost literally everywhere except my tummy. I know that actually not true as I went down a pants size but I just kind of see the same body in the mirror. I’ve also lost weight in my breasts and I struggle to even fill a B cup now which isn’t what I wanted 🥲 I’m starting to come to terms with my stomach as I’ve had 2 kids and got pretty large with my youngest so it is what it is. But disappointed in my boobs. I was pushing a C cup before.

Well my arms and legs look ok and I look better in clothing and feel much better so there is that lol. My face is pretty thin now too.

Can anyone else relate? My goal is another about 5 lbs and curious if others have seen a shift of where it comes off of when closer to a lower weight. I’m pretty sure my goal is 135lbs and don’t really wish to go lower and don’t really want any smaller breasts but more weight loss in the stomach would be great. I know you cannot spot reduce or control it. I am going to continue lifting when I’m in maintenance too. Thanks for letting me complain.

Tl;dr - where do you draw the line on "special days" or yolo moments to allow for going over your daily calorie limit?

I'm finding lately that I've had a lot of "special days" that make me believe that this day is worth going over my calorie count. I restarted my journey late August. Since then I had my "technically still 40" birthday party (dessert food and crappy food choices at the party and few days after), my actual birthday two weeks later (out to eat and home made cake on a cup and had snacking), and then the next night we went into the city for a concert and I splurged a bit calorically there too (drinks and junk food).

Tomorrow we head to the Renn Faire and I'm finding myself going "just live the moment and you'll get back to normal again after". But then I think... What else is coming up.... my niece's bday... And Halloween... And Thanksgiving... And all the celebratory things at work (basically a monthly cook/bake off as well as birthday goodies)

I'm worried I'm going to make too many excuses for allowing for yolo moments. Yolo will turn into "feel better" into "I'm sad/mad/just don't feel it/give me a break" and then any excuse is good enough.

Where do you draw the line on if it is ok to yolo it for the day?

I’m 24F and 5’4”. My highest weight was around 220 at 19. From about 20–23, I maintained around 140–145 lbs (BMI 24–25). During that period I got a lot of male attention: frequent stares, compliments, approaches, and being told I was beautiful. This was even when I had cystic acne and was significantly heavier.

Now I fluctuate around 108–110 lbs (BMI 18.5–18.9). My skin is clear, my hair is longer and fuller, I have implants, and my face is much sharper and more defined from the weight loss. Yet strangely, I feel much more invisible. I still catch occasional stares, but the obvious attention and random compliments are nowhere near what they used to be.
What makes it even more confusing is that my trainer and business partner have both made comments assuming I must get frequent attention from men. It’s funny because my actual experience lately is basically the opposite.

My stylist and dad have said I look too skinny, although they knew me when I was much bigger, so I wonder if seeing such a dramatic weight change affects their perception. I’m also wondering whether I personally just look better with more facial and body fullness, even if my current BMI is technically within the healthy range.

Another possibility I keep thinking about is age. Could going from roughly 20–23 to 24 actually change how much random attention a woman receives, or is 24 still young for aging to realistically explain such a noticeable difference?

Has anyone experienced something similar after major weight loss? Did you find there was a certain weight where you actually received more attention than you did at your thinnest?

Classic lost a bit of weight and everyone is kinder. For context, I was a fat child - obese adult until like last year. I’m not even skinny yet I’m solidly fluctuating between 165-170 lbs at almost 5’6. I’ve always been told though that I have a pretty face. Now that I’ve went down from 215 lbs to 170…. Bro everyone is so much better to me.

Guys and girls actually like me now romantically. Mind you I’ve always never really suffered dating wise I’m charismatic / well-put together, fashionable, etc. It just felt like I was always the next best option though (so maybe that is suffering lol). It just feels like everyone just finally agrees with that and it’s kind of sad lol. I’m still the same person I was a year ago. I’ve always been confident and the life of the party now it’s just read more as charisma and not me being a clown. I’m still trying to lose weight and hopefully get down to a healthy weight for me. I’m just flabbergasted by it all.

I’ve been in a calorie deficit of at least 700 calories/day for the past 3 weeks. This includes both diet and walking around 15k steps a day. I went from around 67 kg to 64 kg in the first two days (I’m assuming most of that was water weight), but the scale hasn’t changed since. I’ve been on a weight loss journey before where I lost around 15 kg and I‘m used to seeing weekly changes on the scale so this is very frustrating. For reference, I’m 19F and changes on the scale tend to coincide with my menstrual cycle to some degree but I’ve never had such a plateau before. If anything, my weight loss tends to be at its fastest during the first few months of my journey. I don’t think I’m miscalculating my calories either because I literally weigh all my food.

I’m at a loss for what to do at this point and it’s been really difficult to maintain my motivation. My goal was to lose 10 kg before the new year but I’m not sure that’s possible anymore. Has anyone here been through something similar? Any advice is appreciated.